Monday, 3 December 2018

OUGD601 - Extended Essay Reading - Designers, Visionaries + Other Stories : A collection of sustainable design essays by Johnathan Chapman and Nick Gant

Notes and Quotes

pg xvi
- design stage dictates 80% of impact on the environment
- systems that have been designed waste large amounts of resources
- designers can respond to the responsibility of their effect on the environment in different ways
- designers are not responsible because its their job
- designers can help design new systems and ways of using resources
- environmental impacts are set during the design stage

pg xvii
- difficult for the consumer to be green if design / production before is unsustainable
- sustainable design relies on codesign with users and consumers
- solutions to sustainability already occur in technology, nature and social practices
about using existing knowledge
- use sustainable solutions from one context in another
- sustainable knowledge / design is not growing quickly enough to keep up with problems 

pg 3
- ancient cultures had more understanding of their effect on the environment, there was a greater link between them and the environment as they relied upon it
- society has become detached from Nature and is seen as a thing to be used
- Nature is wild and considered to be working against the modern environment, we seek to control it through the built environment which allows us to think we are in control of nature
- being sustainably aware means considering how our actions impact on other things
design encourages the consumer culture
- we have created the impression that we are in control of Nature through our built environment but we are actually reliant on it
- behind this false impression of progress the deterioration of the environment has been gradually increasing
- environmental impacts are having an effect on various aspects of our lives. Sustainability is being perceived more in terms of economics. Environmental impacts are now seen as a problem as they are having a visible effect on ecology, economy, health and wellbeing.
- It may be more beneficial for sustainability to be considered more in terms of the economy rather than as helping the environment
- sustainability needs to be considered for both the environment and economy

pg 4
- Sustainable design includes strategies such as:
-        Easy disassembly / recycling
-        Use of appropriate materials
-        Minimise energy consumption
-        Physical and emotionally durable design
- we need sustainable strategies that have little environmental impact and allow humans to have a future
- although there is more sustainable awareness, design can be considered to be superficial which encourages a culture of brevity and excess
- design is part of the problem and the solution
- design encourages not long-lasting products however has the ability to reverse this through sustainable design

pg 5
- categorising sustainable design divides it from other design and implies it has to be one or the other

pg 6
- being efficient in terms of materials used and the speed of digital design will lead to more sustainable design.
- The speed of digitalisation and reduced use of materials make design more efficient and therefore sustainable.
- Consumption is a natural part of human behaviour. Human behaviour fuels consumption cycle.
- people also go against consumer behaviours so human behaviour is not always the problem 
- subconsciously we are motivated to consume
- it is problematic when behaviour is shown in physical terms rather than, metaphysically
the aim should not be to stop consumerism, rather look for alternative ways of consuming

pg 7
- design is needed to make consumption more sustainable
- non consumption = no design, which is impossible to achieve
- Things need to be made and designed to curb and make consumerism sustainable – as part of consumerism, designers will enable and encourage sustainability through experiences and objects
- if we consume nothing it takes away the pleasure and enjoyment from life and has an economic impact
- design needs to encourage sustainable consumption models
- consumption and products will always be needed
- by designing sustainable things that consider consumerism, change is made - by understanding consumerism and fulfilling the need with sustainable products, change is made
- sustainable design is more realistic than non-consumption

pg 8
- everything made and produced has some impact on the environment
- generalisations about sustainability are not helpful, there are different parts to sustainability
- sustainability should be viewed more as a scale rather than sustainable or not sustainable
- need other ways of measuring sustainability
- statistics show that designers believe sustainability is achievable

pg 9
- sustainability can go further than current ideas about sustainability
- sustainable changes should be encouraged however it needs to continue further
- consumers perception of sustainable is not necessarily sustainable
- some people feel it is impossible to be sustainable and solve the ecological crisis because of negative perceptions
- when people do not know all the facts the sustainability issue is simplified

pg 10
- design has continually encouraged the consumer market
- people have a need for progress and design makes people want to be with current trends, - but by designing new things this encourages people to want more fuelling consumerism
- new lasts only for a short time
- a cycle of newness then old is created
- things consumed and owned originally represented an individual and made them distinct, however this has now become a problem for the planet
- successful design is the most damaging to resources
- ‘successful’ design is often the most harmful
- independents want to be commercial, local to global
- there is an ethical responsibility for commercial design as there is more impact created, compared with independent small scale design
- sustainable is usually considered small in scale and expensive

pg 11
- sustainable means lessening the environmental effect of design so considering commercial design in terms of sustainability will make the most change
- awareness from consumers has allowed sustainable design to move into the mainstream
- the consumer wants more meaning from a product and ethic have become a symbol of status
- the consumer is now more aware of sustainability issues, so now questions consumerism
- there is a need for sustainable design because there is more awareness from consumers and increasing legislation by government

pg 12
- the combination of legislation and a market that is ethically aware has created more need from companies to think about the environment
- sustainability is a prosperous are of the market

pg 13
- there needs to be a critical look at sustainable issues and solutions for sustainability to become effective in the long term rather than a trend
- sustainable terms are used for market products that are not always true, creating a false sense of progress and confused consumers
- changing markets and consumer awareness are forcing sustainable change in the market

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